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Tesla promises 'one million robo-taxis' in 2020

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for ErnestGoesToSpace

Tesla Promises Investors 'One Million Robo-Taxis' by 2020

To kick things off, the company shared that it had built its very own computer for self-driving cars. The neural network chip was built from the ground up; the project started back in 2016. Each computer (which is stored behind the glove box) has redundancy so that if one chip fails, the second chip can take over.

This is the company's first time building its own silicon. CEO Elon Musk was quick to boast that Tesla " which has never designed a chip, designed the best chip in the world."

Musk reiterated what he's said before about the hardware available in Teslas. "All Tesla cars right now have everything necessary for self-driving available today. All you need to do is improve the software."

That hardware includes the company's reliance on cameras and radar. When the subject of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) came up, Musk said "LiDAR is a fool's errand. Anyone that's relying on LiDAR is doomed." He later added that "it's fricking stupid. It's expensive and unnecessary."

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2019/04/22/tesla-elon-musk-self-driving-robo-taxi/

Tesla Vaunts Creation of 'The Best Chip in the World' for Self-Driving

takyon writes:

TechCrunch reports:

At its "Autonomy Day" today, Tesla detailed the new custom chip that will be running the self-driving software in its vehicles. Elon Musk rather peremptorily called it "the best chip in the world... objectively." That might be a stretch, but it certainly should get the job done.

Called for now the "full self-driving computer," or FSD Computer, it is a high-performance, special-purpose chip built (by Samsung, in Texas) solely with autonomy and safety in mind. Whether and how it actually outperforms its competitors is not a simple question and we will have to wait for more data and closer analysis to say more.

Robotaxis also at TechCrunch.

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